The Legend of Lake Hollow (2024) 4/10 ⭐ Great, but make up your own ending ...

October 06, 2026

The Legend of Lake Hollow (2024) 4/10 ⭐ Great, but make up your own ending ...

The Legend of Lake Hollow (2024) 4/10 ⭐

Great, but make up your own ending ...
Spoilers-
I really liked this movie, but they broke the cardinal rule, someone has to survive (and spoiler, no one does).

Plot:

Mark Wallace (James David West), a douchy scientist is hired to recon an untouched wilderness for a fracking company. He decides to make it a guy's retreat, and rents a cabin on a pristine lake for a week.

Mark Wallace (James David West),
the douchy older brother

He invites his brother, Dan (Kyle Rankin) and best friend, Carson Hayes (Brendan Bald) to join him for some fishing, drinking and male bonding. But when his brother shows up with two women, he's none to happy, and let's everyone know it.

Carson Hayes (Brendan Bald)
Stand -up guy, best friend

Dan Wallace (Kyle Rankin)
younger brother, kind & compassionate

His brother Dan is newly engaged, and decides to bring his fianceé, Shay Landers (Liz Atwater) along for the week. Shay can't go anywhere without Laurie Peters (Meg Barlowe) her best friend, so Laurie is also here, mucking up Mark's plans for the perfect guys only vacation. He is not shy about his feelings, and enjoys sharing his miseries with others. But Mark is always on about something, so no one is surprised that he's irritated by the girls' presence, or that he's not happy about his brother's engagement.

Shay Landers (Liz Atwater)
The sweet fiancé, who doesn't realize
Mark can't stand her

Dan & Shay, more kind than smart

Laurie Peters (Meg Barlowe)
The smart & clever best friend

On the first night, a strange neighbor, Al Travis, (Will Waldron) knocks on the door and tells them the woods aren't safe. From there, they start seeing strange people in the woods, and begin hearing terrifying noises.

Why are their weird Bluetooth cameras
littering the woods?

Al Travis, (Will Waldron)
The strange neighbor

To make things creepier, their phones continue to try to connect to Bluetooth trail cameras, that are littered throughout the woods. When they connect, and download the pictures, what they see is terrifying. Strange creatures, weird people dressed in frontier clothing, and First Nations people, all seem to have the run of the forest. Bizarre howls echo through the woods, but it's like no animal they've ever heard, and when they try to track down the strange neighbor, all they find is a deserted cabin.

What are these strange creatures being
captured on the trail cameras?

Who are these odd people in frontier dress?

And how can they be two places at once?

Things get more disturbing when they come across the injured grandson of the missing neighbor, Grady Travis (Austin Copps). He says the "Lake People" attacked him, a local legend turned flesh. But there's something off about Grady...

Grady Travis (Austin Copps)
There's something not quite right with Grady...

Let's start with what works:

*THE ACTING WAS ABOVE AVERAGE FOR AN INDIE FILM

For a low budget indie film, the acting was above what I was expecting. I empathized with the characters, even rooted for them. James David West, who played Mark Wallace, the bad brother, was the only actor who occasionally dropped a line.

Mark & Carson
James David West (Mark) occasionally overacted

*THE WRITING WAS ALSO ABOVE AVERAGE FOR A LOW BUDGET INDIE FILM

The characters were all well drawn, with just a bit of stereotype, so you know who you're dealing with. Dan & Shay, the newly engaged young couple, both more good than smart, are a nice touch.

Dan & Shay are a sweet couple you pull for

Laurie, the best friend, who's nerdy and clever (she was my first choice for the lone survivor) was perfectly written.

Laurie was my choice for sole survivor

And finally, Carson, the single guy, the upstanding friend who never lets you down (he was my second choice for lone survivor), was also a well drawn character for this type of film.

Carson was my second choice for the sole survivor

And of course there's Mark, the douche, who doesn't care that he's poisoning the planet, you're hoping he gets killed, but alas, he's last to get it.

Mark, Dan, Shay & Laurie

*THE LOCATION SCOUT DID A GOOD JOB

The setting was excellent, perfect for a creepy atmospheric.

Lots of creepy shots in the trees which evoked isolation

Perfect isolated cabin

It was beautiful, yet evoked a sense of paranoia, just as it should.

*PRODUCTION VALUES WERE FINE

The production values were above average for a low budget film. There are some beautiful shots, great framing, and really lovely filmmaking going on here. It's beautiful but haunting, just as an atmospheric should be.

There are some beautifully framed shots

Evocative filmmaking at it's finest

*THE MONSTER WAS CREEPY ENOUGH

I wish they hadn't done the bit at the end, where you see the monster's face. It ruined most of the punch because the mask the Wendigo wears is way creepier than it's face. But from far away, or on the trail cameras, the masked creature was creepy.

This thing is creepy...

... this thing, not so creepy

*THE SONG AT THE END REALLY WORKS

The song at the end, "Peaceful Rest" by Sara Jean Kelly, is perfect for the end as the credits roll. It's haunting, but fitting and a nice touch.

Now what doesn't work:

*SOMEONE HAS TO SURVIVE, or I'm pissed off at the end. You can't make me empathize, and even liked these characters, and have NO ONE SURVIVE! It breaks the cardinal rule of these types of films, all films really, because people don't like to fight along side the characters, and then have no one make it out. And there were so many options for survival choices, Dan & Shay, the newly engaged couple, Carson, the stand up best friend, Laurie, the smart, nerdy girl, all good choices for the person/persons to make it out alive. But sadly, no. The filmmakers chose to slaughter everyone, and piss off the audience (as you can tell by the ratings).

*DAN WOULDN'T JUMP OUT THE WINDOW, and not tell Mark, his brother, where he's going. That's just stupid, there's no reason for it, even if he thinks Mark would try to stop him. It's a hackneyed way for Mark to be alone. Again, it feels rushed, not thought through, and could have been improved.

Dan wouldn't just jump out the window
and not tell Mark

*THE FRONTIER PEOPLE AREN'T UTILIZED ENOUGH and when they are, their message is unclear. There's ambiguous, and then there's just leaving the audience scratching their heads. There's a bit of both here. I liked that there were daytime scenes with the frontier people, this made the sense of unease permeate the daytime hours as well. But the "Lake People's" message was never made into a clue for the protagonists to follow, another misstep in a flawed film.

I liked that the "Lake People" were seen in the daylight hours

Some scenes added to the uneasy feeling
the film is trying to create

Other scenes (like this one) are just confusing

And not frightening

What is your message?

But this scene worked, more of this, and less ambiguity
would have elevated the fear factor

*THE DEATHS COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER

I think the death scenes were lackluster because of the budget, but they could have been better, even with the money issues. Most of the deaths we don't see, and the ones we do are not up to par. Wendigo's eat people, I mean c'mon, there's so many gross things they could have done here. The deaths all kind of happen at once, in the same way. It felt hurried, and uninspired, another letdown.

*THE NATIVE AMERICAN ELEMENTS ARE NEVER FLUSHED OUT which is a huge misstep as the monster is a Native American legend (or actual creature, depending on who you ask). Having brief flashes of First Nations peoples, but never really giving them any substance, makes them window dressing, which does a disservice to the subject matter.

Beautiful filmmaking, but no substance

Again, what ritual is this? What's going on?

Not utilizing the actual folklore was a missed opportunity

*NO NUDITY

Which is kind of a misstep, because the newly engaged couple is humping their way through the first part of the movie. Titillation is a key component to real horror.

*LAURIE WOULDN'T TRUST GRADY No way Laurie would sit that far away from the house with some weirdo she just met, and Shay wouldn't let her. That's definitely NOT written by a woman.

No woman would stay out in an isolated locale
with some weirdo she just met.
And her best friend wouldn't let her

*A BETTER APPROACH This movie needs a rewrite. There are several plot points that are so obvious, I can't believe they weren't followed. Wendigo hunters blessed the cameras so the Wendigo couldn't remove them. Why wouldn't they have also blessed the cabin? Having the cabin be a protected space is a better storyline. It also sets you up for a sequel.

Also, Laurie should have been an anthropology student. There are even scenes where they discuss what she's studying. Having Laurie know about Native American culture, and remember the legend of the Wendigo, is a better layout. Her knowledge could uncover plot points like breadcrumbs, making for a more enjoyable experience.

Laurie should have been an anthropology student

Speaking of the sequel, the VHS tapes they find are under utilized. Our protagonists could uncover clues shown in the videos, and also allude to the sequel -The Manitou vs The Wendigo.

The VHS tapes are another missed opportunity

In closing:

I think they were going for a more atmospheric thriller, than a real horror movie, but they ended up failing at both. It's still a fine watch, but it could have been so much better. When you get to the part with Mark on the porch with a gun, turn it off, and make up your own ending. You'll enjoy it better this way.

*I had nothing to do with the production or creation of this movie. No part of this review was written by AI, or a bot. I'm just an honest reviewer, looking to help out other die hard movie fans.